Increases the percentage of students from any incoming class who can be exempted from the admission requirements for graduate-level teacher and educational leader programs from no more than fifteen percent to fifty percent.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7490
SPONSOR: Glick TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to the maximum percentage
of students that can be exempted from the admission requirements for
graduate-level teacher and educational leader programs
PURPOSE:
To provide higher education institutions with increased flexibility when
determining admission standards for graduate-level and educational lead-
er programs.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Amends section 210-a of the Education Law to provide higher
education institutions the discretion to determine the credentials for
admission of up to 50% of applicants for graduate-Level teacher and
educational leader programs.
Section 2. Provides for an immediate effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Prior to the enactment of provisions contained in chapter 56 of the Laws
of 2015, higher education institutions had the full discretion and
autonomy to consider multiple measures when determining whether or not
to admit a student into their graduate-level and educational leader
programs. The current requirement that a student have an overall GPA of
3.0 and a minimum score on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is a
one-size fits all policy that prohibits educational institutions from
applying discretion to identifying an individual's potential quality as
a future teacher. This legislation will provide higher education insti-
tutions with more flexibility to admit otherwise qualified candidates
that may not meet the strict admission standards found in 210-a of the
education law.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7490
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 11, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GLICK -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the maximum percentage
of students that can be exempted from the admission requirements for
graduate-level teacher and educational leader programs
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 210-a of the education law, as amended by chapter
2 454 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 210-a. Admission requirements for graduate-level teacher and educa-
4 tional leader programs. Each institution registered by the department
5 with graduate-level teacher and leader education programs shall adopt
6 rigorous selection criteria geared to predicting a candidate's academic
7 success in its program, including but not limited to, a minimum score on
8 the graduate record examination or a substantially equivalent admission
9 examination, as determined by the institution, and achievement of a
10 cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher in the candidate's
11 undergraduate program; provided, however, such graduate record examina-
12 tion or substantially equivalent admission examination requirement shall
13 in no case apply to certified teachers or school administrators who
14 already hold a graduate degree. Each program may exempt [no more than
15 fifteen] up to fifty percent of any incoming class of students from such
16 selection criteria set forth in this section based on a student's demon-
17 stration of potential to positively contribute to the teaching profes-
18 sion or other extenuating circumstances pursuant to the regulations of
19 the commissioner. A program shall report to the department the number of
20 students admitted pursuant to such exemption and the selection criteria
21 used for such exemptions.
22 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09894-01-1
